Summary: As they get closer and closer, Luke and Cassie's friendship becomes more public. Their trust deepens, they slowly reveal more and more layers of themselves and share intimate experiences. Also, Luke shows fortitude in relation to his habit and Cassie begins to feel more than just a physical attraction to Luke.

High school AU, enemies to friends to lovers, slow burn, angst with a happy ending, drug use, mentions of teenage sex, underage drinking, explicit language, teenage drama, canon compliant mild violence, football player Luke, musician Cassie, bed sharing, T1D, diabetes, diabetic ketoacidosis, diabetes diagnosis.

The next morning at breakfast, they were all present.

Marisol had bought tacos home after her shift and busied herself laying it all out for everyone. Cassie helped.

Jacob, however, was on a different mission.

"Frankie Mubuthia's parents called earlier," he said, standing at the kitchen bench resting his palms on the top.

Cassie and Luke glanced at each other.

"They were concerned about you, wanted to know if you were okay. Something about some altercation on their front lawn." Jacob took a deep breath in, crossed his arms and stared at Luke. "You wanna tell me what happened?"

Luke was in no state to argue. He averted his gaze to the food in front of him, his head in his hands.

"Maybe you can enlighten us," Jacob suddenly said, directing his attention towards Cassie.

Stunned, she looked up from her plate, her eyes flicking from Jacob to Luke and back again.

He was going to bring her into this? As if berating his own son wasn't bad enough? Now he was going to turn on her too?

Cassie finished what she was eating and stood up.

"Most people would be proud of their kids for showing up for someone in need." She said clearly and firmly as she stormed past Jacob to the trash can.

"Cassie," Marisol cautioned.

"Love you ma," she kissed her mum on the head, grabbed her stuff and walked out, motioning to Luke as she passed his seat. "You comin'?"

To say that Luke was amazed by her speaking up for him was an understatement. She'd been adamant about staying out of her mum's relationship, yet here she was… crossing a line? For him.

He hustled out of his chair, grabbed his bag and followed.

"Luke!" Marisol called after him, "you haven't finished your breakfast."

Truth was, he hadn't even started it.

He ducked back to the table, grabbed the taco sitting there, said a quick thank-you to Marisol and left.

Leaving both adults gaping in their wake.

They didn't talk about it on their drive. In fact, they didn't say much at all. Instead, Cassie asked about his bruises, her eyes flitting down to his side.

"I think Armando might have broken one of my ribs," he said plainly.

"Jesus! Are you gonna get it checked out?" She scrunched up her nose. "I mean, should you be playing ball like that?"

"I'll be fine," he shrugged it off.

Cassie dropped him at the garage. Yes, she was dropping him at work now too. Taking him to parties, even sometimes picking him up after practice, depending on her schedule. She had no idea how it'd come to that. But, she didn't mind. It was no biggie. In fact, she kinda enjoyed their time in the car - the fact that his face, his smell, his company was the first thing she got to savour before starting her day.

Lately, it had also been the last thing.

Before he got out, Luke took a deep breath, filled his chest with air and then turned to her, slow and steadfast, his eyes clear and penetrating like the night in the bar when he'd caught her falling.

"Thanks for sticking up for me back there," he said with compassion, before his eyes darted away and he ducked his head, turned and left.

Cassie gripped the wheel, dropped her head backwards and stared at the inner roof of her car, letting out a long sigh.

When they had first met, being around Luke was problematic, now she found it difficult being apart from him.

And she really didn't know what to think or do about that.

That night Cassie was in her room trying to polish off the song she had written. The one she'd sung to Luke the other night when he was tripping and he'd asked her to stay. Her and Nora had played around with it at rehearsals that afternoon and had come to the conclusion that they needed to get serious about looking for a drummer and maybe another guitar player. They'd had a couple of others join them to jam from time to time, but now that Cassie was starting to create original it was time to expand.

Nora had also come to the conclusion, all on her own, that Luke Morrow had a thing for Cassie.

"Don't be ridiculous," Cassie scoffed. She knew what she had with Luke. And it wasn't that.

"Ummm… he took a hit for you girl. A number of hits. No dude does that unless he's got a thing."

"Oh c'mon!" Cassie rolled her eyes. "Not all guys are aresholes," what was she even saying? "Look at Frankie," Cassie smiled. Just like everybody else, Nora only knew the Luke that Luke let them see. "Besides," Cassie added, and then wished she hadn't, "Luke likes cheerleaders."

Nora ducked her head and peered at Cassie through lowered brows. "How do you know that?" she questioned.

Cassie paused for a second, confused. "Ah… you told me… remember?"

"I thought you didn't believe in gossip," Nora raised an eyebrow and Cassie tried to look away and change the subject.

"Anyway… this song…"

"Oh my god!" Nora sat up in her chair. "I was wrong… it's you that has a thing for him! Right?" Nora's mouth opened wide when Cassie didn't answer. "Holy shit Cassie!"

Cassie was shaking her head, trying to get a word in. "It's not like that Nora! It's not. We're friends," she licked her lips. "That's it. It's not what you think."

Nora finally calmed down and they got back to playing. But not without having one final say on the matter, under her breath.

"At least he seems half decent. Not like the other pricks you've been with."

Cassie pretended she didn't hear that.

She couldn't pretend not to hear her mum and Jacob arguing however, the sound of their raised voices travelling down the hall through her open door.

"We agreed not to use them against each other," Marisol sounded frustrated.

"She was there, she could have seen the whole thing," Jacob cried.

"You're putting your need for control over your relationship with your son," Marisol said firmly, "and my daughter."

Cassie threw her notepad down and flopped back on the bed, her legs still crossed in front of her, hands stretching back, reaching for the headboard. She heard movement in the passageway and a light knocking.

"Yeah-uh?"

Luke's head and half of his body appeared around the door, holding a bowl of popcorn. His eyes raked over her on the bed and then stopped at the keyboard and notepad, abandoned at the end of it.

"How's it goin?" he asked, gesturing towards the instrument. He stepped closer to the bed and his eyes scanned the notepad curiously, suddenly enlarging. "That song you sang the other night… that was yours?"

Cassie sat bolt upright, scrambled forward and grabbed her notepad. He must have seen some of the lyrics scrawled on the page. Didn't he know it was unwritten law not to read someone's unpublished creative work unless invited? Rude.

"Didn't think you'd remember it…" Cassie mumbled.

Luke shook his head, amazed. "It was pretty memorable," he squinted a little, his forehead scrunching together. "Also… extremely relatable." He scratched the back of his head and looked at Cassie quizzically then. "Did you write that about me?"

Cassie scoffed. What an ego! She held her notebook tighter. "Absolutely not!" she said with as much conviction as she could. But her voice sounded weird. Even she noticed it.

"Hmm," was all Luke said, a thoughtful look on his face.

The sound of their parents arguing punctuated their exchange.

"You think this is the start of the end?" Cassie asked him quietly after a minute.

"I don't know," Luke sighed. He didn't have the same life experience as her with things like this. Not that having the experience made it any easier for her. She'd really started to think her mum and Jacob were a good fit, and now she was cursing herself for having false hope. That was exactly how people got hurt, believing in things that weren't there, weren't real – reading too much into things and twisting the truth. "My Dad's kinda sensitive about the whole fist-fighting thing," Luke added.

"Why's that?" Cassie asked.

Luke shrugged. "It's the reason I got expelled from Carlsbad."

It occurred to her that he was blaming himself for their parent's argument. She knew that feeling. Man, if she had a dollar for every time she thought she'd caused one of her mum's break ups… well she'd still need to be working, but she might have a better keyboard.

"You know this is not on you right? They're adults. They should be able to handle their shit. Regardless of how they get triggered."

"I guess," Luke didn't seem convinced.

"S'pose you'll get what you want, if they split up." Cassie's voice sounded weird again.

He glanced at her, then stared at the wall, shrugging. For a little while, he didn't say anything. "I dunno. My dad'll be miserable, for who knows how long. And you know who he's gonna take that out on."

Cassie didn't even want to think about how much she didn't want it to happen this time. Not just for her mum's sake, but for her too. She was getting used to having Luke in her life. Their car rides, easy conversations, playful badgering, joint secrets, bed sharing, doorway meetings and just this weekend – publicly showing up for each other.

All that, and he was still scared of sitting on her bed without asking? Dude was a nerd. Nora and all those other idiots at school had no idea about the real Luke! She quite liked being the only who was privy to his inner workings – even if it did sound slightly possessive.

Cassie leaned forward and dragged her keyboard to the side, sliding it back onto it's stand.

"You can sit down you know," she threw him a pillow and he smiled a quick little smile, just enough for Cassie to get a glimpse of one or two dimples. "But let's change the subject."

"Okay," Luke agreed, placing the popcorn between them before sitting on the side and then laying back onto the pillow, across the bed. His head was at the end of her feet, and she could see him all stretched out and taut before her from her sitting position against the headboard. "I'm curious. Why'd you sleep with Armando?"

Woah. That's what he wanted to change the subject to? Cassie was not prepared to be judged by him. They were supposed to be friends.

"Curious?" Cassie pulled her chin in and raised her eyebrows at him. "Is that what you call it?"

"Yeah," Luke stumbled and sat upright, leaning on one hand and turning to his side so she could see his expressions better. "I just… I don't get it." Luke shrugged.

"Get what?"

"You're always banging on about toxic masculinity and Armando's like, the epitome of all that shit."

Cassie hadn't realised he was paying attention to her feminist rants. Had been listening just so that he could he put her opinions back on her?

"Well, you're one to talk," she deflected. "You're friends with him."

"We're not friends," Luke said without hesitation, curling his upper lip in disgust. "I mean, are you kidding? You saw what he did."

"Yeah, well before last night." Cassie scoffed, "I've seen you guys hangin' out at school and on the field. He drives you home from practice. You workout together. Party together. Probably date the same girls."

"We're part of a team. He does that stuff with lots of the guys." Luke said matter-of-factly. "And if he keeps me closer than the others it's only cause for some reason he's worried I'm gonna take his quarterback position, which I'm not the slightest bit interested in. I don't party, like I told you Saturday, and we don't even like the same girls."

Cassie stung a little from the last statement and wondered if it was supposed to be a gibe. It certainly felt like it. But Luke wasn't finished.

"I just think you could have any guy you wanted. Armando's a dick."

Not any guy, Cassie thought, and then pushed the realisation out of her head. "Yeah… he's a dick. That's exactly the point. Dick was what I wanted." She refused to be coy about her needs.

This time it was Luke's turn to scoff and raise his eyebrows at her.

"What?" She demanded.

"Nothing."

Cassie tilted her head and squinted her eyes at him. "Just say the damn thing."

Luke huffed and took a minute to compose himself. "Okay," he looked straight at her. "You make out like it's all about the sex, but the real reason you go out with guys like him is because you know it won't work."

Cassie lifted her chin and looked at the ceiling.

"Luke, Luke, Luke. It is all about the sex. And… since when are you an expert on relationships anyway?"

"Huh." Luke nodded and smiled, a flash of teeth making Cassie smile too. "Well, first of all, it doesn't take an expert to notice that. And secondly, I've been in plenty of relationships."

"Ah huh… plenty?" Cassie rolled her eyes. "Is this where you get all macho and tell me how many people you've slept with, and how good a lover you are?"'

"Nope."

"Okay…" Cassie had not been expecting that reply. She tried to recover. "Good." Then after a beat. "So how many people have you slept with?" she smirked, cheekily.

"Wow," Luke tilted his head back and tongued the inside of his cheek. "For someone who despises machoism, you're really kind of encouraging it right now."

Cassie laughed and the vibrations spread throughout her body, making her feel all warm and light. God, did she actually enjoy it when he was right? When he was calling her out? That was new for her. It felt alluring, exciting even. He had this way of challenging her, with respect. But it wasn't just a turn on… it was sweet, and familiar and… she could never… NEVER admit it. "Stop avoiding the question," she countered, grabbing a handful of popcorn. It was weird how he always seemed to know when she needed snacks.

"Okay." Luke took a deep breath and exhaled. "In the spirit of being open and honest with each other" he paused, "I've never had sex with anyone."

Cassie grinned in disbelief. "You expect me to believe you're a virgin?

Luke shrugged. "Sex should be with someone you love"

Cassie coughed, nearly choking on her popcorn.

"Ohhh" she fanned herself. "Now I actually believe you."

"Well maybe not with someone you love, but at least someone you respect," he fumbled for words, "someone you have a connection with, who you care about."

Cassie tried not to let that sink in too deep.

"Love is an illusion," she finally composed herself. "If you're gonna wait around to fall for somebody, then your dick's never gonna get wet. And that would be a shame," she emphasised her point by poking him in the chest with her index finger.

"Oh," Luke smiled a shy smile and then poked her right back "is that right?"

She rolled her eyes. "I've seen you with no pants on enough times to know."

Luke, damn him… wasn't perturbed by this comment at all, if anything he seemed even more smug. "You were perving on me?"

"Don't flatter yourself, Morrow. We both know what state you're usually in when you're running around pants down." He conceded with a grimace. "Besides what I really meant was... you don't know what you're missing out on." She pursed her lips. "Sex can be a lot of fun. It doesn't have to be loaded with meaning or emotion."

"Okay. So tell me. What am I missing out on?"

Was he really asking her this?

Cassie scrunched up her face. "Why would I do that?" She laughed.

"I dunno.. in the interest of… education, riveting conversation, blocking out the sound of domestic bullshit, or if none of that takes your fancy…" he pulled two of her favourite protein bars out of his pocket and dangled them in front of her. Sly.

She decided to be brave, roll with it. Have some fun. Who knew where it might lead? She'd never talked about such candid things with anyone else before. Not even Nora, her bestie since grade school. Plus, she really liked those protein bars, they were delicious, sustained her energy and you could only get them from one store, all the way across town. Which made her wonder how and why he'd gone to so much effort to secure them.

"Okay." Cassie grabbed the bars and sat up straight. "What do you wanna know?"

"I mean… I'm familiar with the mechanics." Luke looked directly at her and Cassie could feel heat pooling between her thighs. "Guess, I'm just curious… what it feels like… you know?"

"Okay…" This was weird. But also, kinda cool. And hot. In what universe exactly was a guy like Luke still a virgin? Damn. Nora and those idiots at school, really, really had no idea at all! Cassie cleared her throat. "Well… first of all... there's the anticipation - the build up. The moment you realise it's gonna happen but you're not sure how or when, or exactly what it'll feel like with that particular person." Luke was watching and listening so intently, Cassie's nipples tingled and she could feel her body responding, in almost the exact same way she was describing to him. Ironic. "Every time you see them or your near them, your body stirs and awakens in places you didn't even know existed. There's this hunger, this need, kinda driving you unconsciously. Overtaking your body, like a fever."

There was a long silence before either one of them spoke.

"You've felt this before?" Luke's voice was quiet, raspy, genuinely curious.

"Sure," Cassie tried to sound casual, but inside, she was wrecked. Whose idea was this exactly? "Like, every time," she continued. "You must have felt it too, right? Like, when you're kissing someone, or maybe foolin' around?" She hoped it wasn't too obvious that she was fishing for information on him. "Even just, being in the same room as somebody you like."

"I don't know," Luke looked away and Cassie felt a heavy emptiness and then a faint nausea, like her heart had dropped into her stomach and was reacting with the enzymes and acids there. But she pushed on. Because this was about Luke, not her.

"It's basic attraction. You've never felt attracted to anyone before?" Cassie found it hard to believe. He'd been with some of the hottest girls in school, according to the rumour mill. The rumour mill that she'd never paid attention to. Until… Luke. He must have done something with them, or else his virgin status would have been well and truly public knowledge, right?

Luke's eye travelled back to her then and his gaze was penetrating. He swallowed and his eyes flicked down to her lips and then back. "I don't think so, at least, not until recently" he said slowly and deliberately.

Cassie moved her mouth to speak and nothing came out. Her eyes darted away from his intense scrutiny. Her stomach swirled.

"Is that weird?" Luke asked in a rush, clearing his throat. "I mean, do you think it's weird that I haven't been aroused by anyone before?"

"I…uh…no." Cassie managed to say. She didn't think he was weird. Intriguing was a better word for it. God, it seemed the more she got to know Luke, the less she actually knew about the guy. The closer they got, the more he revealed himself. She'd never met anyone quite like him, and it was inexplicable to her.

"You know," she came to her senses, remembering this wasn't about her. "If you're worried about it, there's a sex counsellor at school."

"I'm not worried about it." Luke said with full confidence, and she believed him. "Besides, that's what I have you for, Salazar. To talk about this stuff."

Cassie was no sexpert. But she knew what he meant. These open, honest conversations were becoming a thing for them. But as refreshing as it was, to be able to talk so freely with him, Cassie wasn't entirely convinced it was a good idea. It was one thing to lust after him, based on the wide expanse of his shoulders, that infuriating mole above that ridiculously kissable mouth and the bulge in his boxer shorts. It was another thing to be sharing his bed, singing her own original songs to him (even if they were about him) and having intimate conversations about sex.

She was losing her edge, and she knew it.

On Monday they were the talk of the school. Well, at least the fight was, and Luke defending Cassie. Typical, she thought, no mention of her standing up for herself by laying down the law with Armando. What was it with people and their damsel in distress/white knight fantasies?

When Cassie pulled up they walked in together for the first time and the rumour mill ran wild. Neither of them paid any attention.

At practice Luke was subjected to a medical when one of his coaches saw the bruises. It was confirmed that he had two cracked ribs. His coach wanted to know how it happened.

"If somebody did this to you, I need to know who it was, " he explained.

Luke made something up. He knew it would get Armando suspended from the game if he told the truth, and he wasn't that guy. Plus, maybe, just maybe it would get Armando off his back.

Luke got put on an altered training program for the week and was placed on reserve for game night, dependant on his recovery.

That night, lying across the end of Cassie's bed again, he was obviously anxious.

"If they tell my dad about my ribs, I'm screwed," he paused. "If I don't play Friday, I'm screwed."

Cassie thought his worry was probably heightened by the fact that he hadn't had any oxy in the last three or four days. She wondered how long it had been since he'd gone this much without it. How the withdrawal was messing with his body and his brain.

She took something out of her bedside table and shuffled closer to him on the mattress.

Luke followed her every move. Quiet, now that she was near him.

"How is it?" She asked, softly gesturing with her eyes at his ribs.

"Still sore," he shrugged. "But I can manage."

He was actually clothed, for once, but now she needed him otherwise.

"Can I...?" Cassie touched the edges of his shirt and Luke flinched.

He sat up. Turned to her. Their faces were inches apart. She took in the mole on his lip and the one on his jaw. The shadows, and slight stubble surrounding them. The light reflecting off those goddamn cheekbones and the bags under his eyes. Those hazel speckled pools that were slightly enlarged now, staring at her. Expectant. She could literally drown in those eyes.

Cassie held up a tube of anaesthetic cream between them, waving it in his face.

"Got this today," she said, and her voice was a little strained. She didn't tell him the real reason she went to the pharmacy was to pick up one of the free naloxone kits they kept there. He had scared the shit out of her the other night when she found him lying face down, and she had wanted to be prepared, just in case it happened again, only worse.

"Take your shirt off," she told him.

At first, he hesitated. "You're usually telling me the opposite Salazar," he grinned as he obliged. "I don't think you know what you want."

Cassie poked his good side gently and he winced playfully.

Then without warning she started to smooth some of the gel over the dark blotches on his injured ribs.

Luke tensed. Grabbed her hand.

"I can do that myself you know," his voice was low, husky, his hand warm.

"Just let me," she half-whispered, trying not to stare at his lips, full and slightly parted in front of her, and instead focused on taking care of him.

That's what friends did, right? And that's what they were, she reminded herself. Friends.

"I see you working hard at not having a fix Luke," she uttered with quiet reverence as she gently massaged the cream into his beaten side. "You will get through this. I believe in you."

Luke closed his eyes, relaxing into her touch.

For one whole, delicious week, Luke didn't touch the oxy.

It wasn't easy. Especially with the added pain of his injury, and the threat of not being able to play Friday night's game looming above him.

Cassie did all she could to help him sit with the feelings and when that didn't work, distract from the withdrawal. Which is how they ended up doing some pretty random shit.

One night they smoked a joint, lay on Luke's bed and watched B-grade 80s movies projected onto the ceiling. Cassie fell asleep halfway through the opening credits of the second one. Her night-time staying power seemed to be diminishing everyday. She put it down to lots of working and rehearsing, all night conversations and not eating properly. Either way, Luke didn't mind. The feeling of her sleeping beside him was just as comforting to him as her lying awake talking or listening. Besides, if she needed rest, then that's what he would give her.

The next evening, they went for a run. Well, Luke ran, and Cassie cycled beside him. After their conversation about Armando the other night, she had questioned him about the whole quarterback thing.

"You're not interested in quarterback? I thought that was like the ultimate role?"

"I never even wanted to play football," Luke answered. "I wanted to try out for track," he smiled before continuing, "my dad said that would be a waste of my athleticism. So I caved."

He went on to tell her that running was like meditation for him, it helped him declutter his head, think straight.

Cassie couldn't stop contemplating how captivating it was witnessing him reveal himself. It was intoxicating - every little thing she learned about him made her want to know more, made her want to get closer and closer to him, entwine herself in all the different parts of him, all his fears and hopes and needs. She'd never been so enthralled by anyone before. It was a little overwhelming. Okay, it was a lot overwhelming, but in a good way.

When they finished the run, he told her it was the first time he'd been since his mum died. Cassie was sure she saw a tear roll out the corner of his eye, but it could have been sweat. Probably sweat. Definitely… a tear. They were both exhausted after, which was exactly the point – no space or energy left for thinking about, or craving oxy. Or each other.

On the third night, they were eating dinner in front of the TV when Cassie noticed Luke's leg jigging up and down. She knew what that was. She'd seen it too many times not to recognise that Luke was on the edge of the abyss. He'd been on his phone, a lot since getting home from training and when Cassie saw Johnno's name flash up on a message notification, she placed her bowl of salad on the coffee table, stood up, took his phone out of his hands and pulled him off the couch.

"What the hell!" Luke feigned annoyance.

"Let's do something crazy!" Cassie beamed, grabbing her keys and her bag by the door.

"Like what?" Luke's leg jigged faster.

"Come on," she grabbed his hand. "And make sure you bring your ID."

Luke was reluctant at first, but he followed. Because despite all of his outer bravado, deep down he wanted to lean into her. He wanted to rely on somebody. To trust implicitly. He wanted someone to be there with him when he was on the precipice, just like she had been that week.

But he wasn't expecting a tattoo shop.

"Are you serious?" Luke ran his hand through his hair. This might have been a little too crazy.

"You said you'd thought about it," which was true. It was one of the many things they'd discussed during their late-night conversations.

"Yeah but… my dad would kill me."

"Screw your dad! It's your body dude."

Luke knew exactly what he was getting. He asked Cassie about hers.

"Show you when we're done!" She winked.

And she did, slipping the shoulder of her top down so he could see her grandma's words in fine, flowing font across the top left side of her back.

"It's very poetic," he said sincerely, his breath tickling the skin of her shoulder.

When Jacob discovered Luke's tattoo the next day, he reacted instantly.

"What the hell is that?"

Luke didn't answer. Jacob grabbed his arm, realising what it was. "A tattoo? What… it's not enough to be acting like a thug, now you gotta look like one too? Damnitt Luke, I thought I raised you better than to go marking your skin with..."

Jacob looked at the design. Really looked at it. Read it. And dropped Luke's arm like it was a hot coal. "Jesus," he covered his eyes and backed away, wounded, eventually leaving the room.

"Probably should have got it in a less conspicuous spot," Luke said to Cassie later.

"I think it's perfect," Cassie smiled reassuringly, tracing the tiny cross and the date of his mother's death inked into his right wrist. "It's like… you wear your heart on your sleeve."

Luke smiled softly back, ducking his head and closing his eyes.

Not all of Cassie's ideas were received quite as well.

On the Thursday night, Luke was worried about the verdict for his game night status.

"I just want to get out of my head, you know, just escape for a little bit," he told Cassie as they sat out in the back yard, sucking on a couple of beers. No ice this time. Thank goodness. Cassie put that down to the oxy.

"There are other ways to reach oblivion," Cassie suggested.

"Like what?"

There was a slight pause before Cassie answered.

"Orgasms."

Luke nearly sprayed his beer everywhere.

"Can't say I've ever reached oblivion… on my own," he muttered, before taking another swig and looking at her sideways. Did he just admit to… holy hell, Cassie was not picturing that. Not at all. Not one bit…

"I could help," she heard herself saying before it was too late. "If you'd like me to."

Luke let out a long shallow breath then looked her directly in the eye. "I don't think that's a good idea, Cassie." The way he said her name right then, just about slayed her.

"Why not?" she leaned in a little, her head feeling fuzzy from the alcohol. "It doesn't have to mean anything."

Luke's face changed. "Well that just it... I want it to mean something."

Cassie's eyes widened and her mouth went dry. God she was thirsty, she took another swig of her beer, then placed it out of reach, it really wasn't helping.

"N-n-not with you," Luke stuttered, realising what he'd said. Cassie furrowed her brows and pouted her lips. "I mean," he was all over the place, "… with whoever, I… do it with… I want it to mean something."

Cassie chuckled as he fumbled through and Luke groaned, putting his head in his hands.

"I really fucked that up," he chuckled too.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

They were both hopeless.

"Look," Luke said plainly, trying to recover the moment. "You're tipsy, and I don't think you'd be saying any of this, if you weren't."

"I am not tipsy," Cassie denied. She'd had maybe two beers.

"Cassie, I think it's time I told you a very hard truth, that you're not gonna wanna hear."

"Oh yeah?" Her interest was piqued.

Luke smirked. "You're a cheap drunk."

She gasped, shocked. "Lies!"

"Ah… no. It's real. And in about twenty minutes, you're gonna be asleep on the grass, and I'm gonna have to carry you inside. So…ummm," he smirked again. "How 'bout a raincheck?"

Her mouth fell open again and she slapped his arm playfully. She knew he was joking, but she hadn't expected that final stab. Cheeky. But also… promising?

"You'd carry me inside?" Cassie cocked her head up at him and feigned puppy dog eyes, batting her eyelashes dramatically. "How romantic."

"No." Luke shook his head. "Romantic would be not letting you get drunk in the first place, especially when you're already exhausted and you can't hold your liquor."

"That's not romantic. That's controlling," Cassie rebutted.

And they launched into a heated discussion on what constituted autonomy. Apparently, she was still sober enough to argue.

A little bit later, when he did carry her back inside the house, well piggybacked her actually, they reconvened in Cassie's room where she immediately cocooned herself under the covers.

"Is that why you have sex?" Luke asked out of nowhere. "Because it makes you feel oblivious?"

"Maybe a little," Cassie said huskily, her eyelids heavy. She couldn't be bothered explaining the reality of it right now. Sleep was beckoning.

"Have you ever felt any other emotions during, or after?"

Dude had a lot of questions, but Cassie didn't even have to think about that one. "Nope," she answered unequivocally. Up until now it had been easy for her to compartmentalise her sex life.

Uncomplicated was the word that summed it up.

In fact, that's how she would have summed up her entire life before meeting Luke Morrow and having to move in with him.

Now, not so much.

AN: I have os much fun writing these two - I love where their dialogue takes me. What did you think about Luke's revelation? It came as a surprise to me writing but I felt it really fitted with this incarnation of him and also in some ways aligned with his canon beliefs about love. Hope it sits well with you all too. Love to hear what you think about it. More to come... I just have to find the time to upload and share!